Iran has outnumbered Qatar in joint South Pars gas field’s drilling rigs, the managing director of Pars Oil and Gas Company said on Monday.Currently 15 drilling rigs are active in different phases of South Pars, the Mehr News Agency quoted Mousa Souri as saying.

“The number of gas field’s total drilling rigs will reach 20 by the end of current Iranian calendar year (March 19, 2013),” he said.

According to Souri, Iran intends to increase the number of South Pars gas field’s drilling rigs up to 28 by the end of the second quarter of next Iranian year (September 2013).

Iran drilled 124 offshore and onshore wells in the country’s oil and gas fields during the first eight months of current Iranian calendar year, which began March 20.

The drilling operations of some new rigs are also underway, the SHANA News Agency reported.

The Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi said in November that the country plans to launch 7 drilling rigs in South Pars gas field by the end of current Iranian calendar year (March 19, 2013).

Managing Director of National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Ahmad Qalebani said on December 21 that Iran plans to increase the number of active drilling rigs in its joint oil and gas fields by 30 percent next year.

Iran is currently carrying out 150 million dollars of oil and gas projects in the country, 110 million dollars of which is in the joint fields, the ISNA News Agency quoted Qalebani as saying.

Saying that Iran needs to install more offshore drilling rigs, he went on to note that Iran plans to increase its daily oil and gas production capacity up to 5 million barrels and 480 million cubic meters, respectively over a five-year period.

Iran has attached the priority on boosting gas production capacity from its joint oilfields with Qatar and Saudi Arabia, Oil Minster Rostam Qasemi ?said in June.

Qasemi said in November that 775 million cubic meters (mcm) per day of gas could be extracted from South Pars after all its phases come on stream.

Iran is currently producing 300 mcm per day of gas from South Pars. The country, which sits on the world’s second largest natural gas reserves after Russia, has been trying to enhance its gas production by increasing foreign and domestic investments, especially in its South Pars gas field.

Iran sits on the world’s second largest natural gas reserves after Russia and is trying to grow its gas production by increasing foreign and ?domestic investments, especially in its South Pars gas field.

South Pars is part of a wider gas field that is shared with Qatar. The larger field covers an area of 9,700 square kilometers, 3,700 square kilometers of which are in Iran’s territorial waters (South Pars) in the Persian Gulf.

The remaining 6,000 square kilometers, referred to as the North Dome, are in Qatar’s territorial waters.